For the past several months, PUGG has been working with O Positive in creating audio for select murals chosen by PUGG members. The mural that was selected by Lance Cushman is called Broadway Wild Ride, a mural by BOOGIEREZ and Mr. Ewok One, BOOGIEREZ being two artists known as Boogie and Rez. It was painted on the side of Eddy’s, a deli on Broadway, known locally for its delicious turkey sandwiches. Fittingly, the mural depicts a highly stylized turkey being ridden by two children as if they’re truly going on a wild ride through untold whimsy. You’ll be able to hear all about it in Lance’s own audio for the mural.
After Lance interviewed Boogie and Rez, they invited us to New York City to see their work there, as well as an adventure up into the city’s skyscrapers to see their studio and other gallery spaces far up off the ground with mystifying views of the city landscape.
On January 4th, members of PUGG along with Aimee Gardner and Lindsey Wolkowicz arrived in NYC at Boogie’s mural Do What Makes U Happy where we met BOOGIEREZ themselves. I immediately saw the energy that their work reflected, brimming with passion for art and creation. They guided us around the building, each side bearing a completely unique mural done by a different New York artist as part of a collaboration with the World Trade Center. There was something really inspiring about the work of local artists being shown on such a large scale and celebrated in this way. They are not just artworks, but symbols of the power of art itself.
Then we began the guided tour into the different spaces, following behind Boogie and Rez. I can’t remember the names of the specific buildings we went into, but I remember the sight of those floors so vividly. We first visited a gallery space up in the 69th floor of a towering skyscraper just beside the World Trade Center itself. the art on display was in reverence of New York City and the World Trade Center, honoring them as a feat of mankind and works of art in their own right. In this same show, on display was artworks recovered from 9/11. It was quite miraculous to see, especially seeing descriptions describing 9/11 as one of the biggest losses of art in history.
Later during lunch we went to BOOGIEREZ’s studio in a different building, which was all the way up on the 80th floor. Being in a building at that height for the first time was dizzying, like the floor wasn’t going to hold me. But the view was breathtaking. Overlooking the city, one could see the landscape stretching out for miles, seeing other skyscrapers like little toy buildings, and river-spanning bridges like pieces of a playset. It was from this viewpoint that I saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time, down in the distance. Beyond that, we got to see the work of BOOGIEREZ right in their studio, and learn about their process. They had a couple walls where they taught us how to spray paint, which some PUGGs really figured out quickly. I like to think I was also rather good at using spray paint well.
Our last stop before heading back to Kingston was on another floor in the same building as the studio, this one being another gallery space with a wide variety of NYC-themed artworks, from parking meters with tiny dioramas inside to colorful murals spanning across an entire wall. The backdrop of the city was dreamlike for these particular works, and I felt like there was a magical energy to the city that I was feeling from the passion of these artists. A centerpiece to this show was a cut-out portion of a subway interior, covered with signatures of all who have visited it. I made sure to get my alias on there, and Lance used a pole that Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson once broke while visiting to sign the ceiling of the installation.
I live just over two hours away from New York City by bus, but I have seen so little of it for multiple reasons. When I do get to visit, I don’t typically get the luxury to explore or get up into the heights of skyscrapers that I want to. I know that multiple PUGG members hadn’t even been there before that trip. BOOGIEREZ has really done a great favor to PUGG for not only inviting us down to the city, but also showing us through beautiful sights and mystifying heights we likely wouldn’t have gotten to see on any old visit. Hopefully we will get to see BOOGIEREZ again soon!
